rdfs:Literal - Error in RDF Schema!

• From: Karsten Tolle <Storr@t-online.de>
• Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 10:22:58 +0100
• To: www-rdf-comments@w3.org
• Cc: www-rdf-interest@w3.org, christop@ics.forth.gr
• Message-Id: <m11uuME-00043NC@fwd09.btx.dtag.de>

Hi,

in the RDF Schema (http://www.w3.org/TR/PR-rdf-schema/) I found rdfs:Literal in 
Figure 1 and Figure 2 just as an rdfs:Resource. In the 'Basic XML Serialization' 
rdfs:Literal is a class (type = rdfs:Class) and in the 'Compact XML 
Serialization' rdfs:Literal is a class and additional is defined as a sub class 
of rdfs:Resource.

So, the question what is rdfs:Literal. 

It represents the set of atomic values, e.g. textual strings and so on. Classes 
representing sets, so, I think it is right to say that rdfs:Literal is a class, 
especially because rdfs:Literal is used for the rdfs:range definitions of 
rdfs:comment and rdfs:label and the range of rdfs:range is rdfs:Class.
 
If rdfs:Literal is a sub class of rdfs:Resource this would mean that the 
instances of rdfs:Literal are also instances of rdfs:Resource, but a textual 
string has no URI and is no resource. 

Therefore I prefer the version of the 'Basic XML Serialization' that says 
rdfs:Literal is a class but not a sub class of rdfs:Resource.

Greetings,
Karsten

Received on Monday, 6 December 1999 04:24:12 UTC